The Cassidy Law Firm Blog

A research study based on 25 years of collected data demonstrates an unmistakable increase in injuries to this country's soccer players as evidenced by the number of such injuries treated in emergency rooms throughout the nation. The study shows that while there were 106 soccer injuries per 10,000 players in 1990, by 2013 that number had risen to 220 per 10,000 players. There is not yet enough information to formulate such statistics for 2014 forward, but the data already available attests to the fact that 3 million soccer players, aged 7 to 17, received ER treatment between 2000 and 2014.

The rising level of concussions suffered by soccer players is especially distressing. Of the soccer injuries treated in national ERs this year, 7 percent, or more than 200,000, were concussions, a stunning increase from 2 per 10,000 players in 1990 to 30 per 10,000 players in 2013.

If your child has suffered a serious injury during a soccer practice or game in New Jersey for which negligent adults or inappropriate supervision were at fault, you should contact a talented personal injury attorney who is prepared to fight vigorously for your rights to appropriate compensation.

Reasons for the Increase in Soccer Injuries

There are a number of reasons for the increase in soccer injuries in recent years. For one thing, more and more children are participating in the sport. According to U.S. Youth Soccer, there were more than 3 million registered soccer players in 2014 -- that's almost twice as many as in 1990! At this point, soccer-related injuries requiring emergency treatment rank second only to football injuries.

Experts point to the following reasons for the increased number of soccer injuries:

Increased popularity of the sport in this country

Greater awareness of concussions and their potential risks

Greater participation of all children in sports, particularly soccer

As the world becomes a smaller place, the popularity of soccer, globally more popular than football, has been moving closing to the forefront of the national scene. Because of the new data demonstrating links between concussions and future diseases, such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease, parents and coaches have become far more likely to seek emergency treatment for head injuries than they were in the past. Moreover, since all children are being encouraged to be involved in sports for reasons of health, children who may be less athletically inclined, and therefore more prone to injury, may be participating in the sport.

According to Dr. Huiyun Xiange, lead author and a researcher at the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, "Concussions can have significant consequences in terms of cognitive function and brain development." This not only makes the general population more wary of the consequences of injuries that once seemed less important, it also underscores the need for better education in injury prevention and safety in youthful games of soccer.